Loretta LaRoche: TV: Where losers become famous

Loretta LaRoche

Monday

Jan 25, 2010 at 12:01 AMJan 25, 2010 at 6:31 PM

It fascinates me that there is no end to how media moguls choose to entertain the public with shows that feature individuals who are essentially losers. If it’s disgusting, derogatory or immoral, they will find a way to showcase it.

It fascinates me that there is no end to how media moguls choose to entertain the public with shows that feature individuals who are essentially losers.

A reality show titled “Worst Cooks in America: May the Best of the Worst Win” premiered earlier this month. I know I’m going to sound like a broken record, but when I was growing up, you hid the parts of you that were considered less than valuable. No one sat around the dinner table and vocalized about how stupid they were, how inept they might be in the sack, or how pathetic their parenting skills might be.

Not until the era of disclosure where nothing is held back – no matter how personal or vile.

My grandmother could have been the head of the CIA. She never disclosed anything that might tarnish her reputation or that of her family. I can’t even imagine her spending time with her relatives or friends discussing her ineptitudes in any area of her life, especially cooking. She considered herself to be the Grand Poobah of chefs.

Watching a program based on individuals who become famous for their inability to cook would be akin to her using canned tomatoes for her spaghetti sauce.

This type of programming has become par for the course. Let’s find individuals who are subpar and showcase them on a reality show for all to witness so we can mock them and find them amusing. There seems to be no end to what TV honchos come up with.

If it’s disgusting, derogatory or immoral, they will find a way to showcase it. Believe me, I am no prude, but what has happened to entertainment, and when and how did we get to this place? I find most television today to be inane and insipid. I have 900 stations to choose from and often find it difficult to find something valuable to watch. Even the Animal Planet has resorted to segments that leave you bug-eyed and delirious.

Do I really want to watch a show that focuses on an individual who lived through an avalanche in a cave for a month gnawing on an old piece of rope for sustenance? I would much rather watch Fido dial 911 when his master is in trouble and end up with his own reality show.

Now, that’s not only entertaining, but it really makes me feel that the world is a friendly place.

Author, humorist, PBS star and Fortune 500 trainer Loretta LaRoche lives in Plymouth, Mass. To share your pet peeves, questions or comments, write to The Humor Potential, 50 Court St., Plymouth 02360, send e-mail to getalife@lorettalaroche.com, also call toll-free 800-99-TADAH (82324), or visit stressed.com. This column is the opinion of the writer and not of the newspaper.

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